Thank you, this is super helpful. I know we have a bunch of people and kids who would be very interested in the Wright Bros. museum. Would you estimate about 2 h there to see everything or longer? Everything you have mentioned sounds great. We will try to bring some bikes and rent some more.
I hope the water will be warm enough for swimming but I guess we will have to see when we get there.

My sister heads there every year and typically the water is warm, much warmer than NJ, De, MD beaches. Last year was an exception and it was not warm even in late July where she was.
Take the ferry to Okracoke for a nice day!!!

People are in the water today around Litchfield. It's been a strange year--blooms and softshells are a month early. I suspect the water will be warm enough.

Water temps can be quite variable on the OBX in our experience, unfortunately, which is why I suggested the idea of a house (you can get one oceanfront or not) WITH a pool.

We've been to the beach in AUGUST and the water wasn't all that warm; we've been in August when it was fine.

As to the OBX vs. Wilmington (i.e., Carolina Beach and Wrightsville) sorry but they are, in fact, further away and there isn't NEARLY as much to see and do there.

The Wright Memorial Bridge over to the beach gets busy around late morning-mid-day on cottage changeover days (i.e., Saturday and to a lesser extent on Sundays) during the season.

As to the Memorial...yes, 2 hours would be PLENTY of time to visit; there's an indoor display and probably that famous film clip of the first flight which is basically it.

We do have a house with a pool, sound-side not beach-front.
I'm going to keep my fingers crossed that the water is warm enough for some swimming. Any restaurants around Corolla that people recommend? We will cook in-house quite a bit but it is nice to have a few options to eat out. We don't mind driving some distance for really good food.

I love the idea of taking the ferry to Okracoke for a day trip. Will definitely add that to our agenda. Thanks for all these great ideas.

Our favorites for food are Steamers Shellfish to Go and Duck Donuts. Steamers has a couple small tables outside if you want to eat there but we often just pick up a ton of seafood and eat it back at the house on the deck.

Duck Donuts is a place we go to EVERY morning. Decadent and crazy, I realize, but we LOVE their donuts.

Be sure you take in the ranger led lecture at the Wright Memorial indoor museum. It is geared towards families, kids and adults will both enjoy it, it is fun and informative.

Steamers Shellfish and Duck Donuts both sound yummy.
Thank you for the suggestions. Thanks also for the tip about the ranger led lecture. It is great to know so much about the general area and what to do before we even get there.

Also, if you are north near Corolla, the wildlife center there....I think it is called the Outer Banks Center for Wildlife Education or something similar, has all sorts of free classes for kids and families. We did a couple and they were well done and fun for the kids. You need to sign up in advance and spaces fill quickly. You can do it online. Google it.